Volodymyr Gurlov, the partner of law firm “Pravova Dopomoga” answered questions about deceptive advertising in Ukraine for “Contracts Ukraine”.

The article was published on the 27th of June 2013.

Translated excerpts from the article:

According to Volodymyr Gurlov, the partner of law firm “Pravova Dopomoga”, use of deceptive advertising is not large in its extent. “It would be more precise to say that these cases are of regular nature. The business constantly searches for new ways of more effective PR” – says the partner. At the same time he noted that the worst situation with deceptive advertising is in the field of alcohol, tobacco and drugs advertising.

The law of Ukraine “On consumer protection” defines “delusion of consumers” as provision (including notifications that are contained in advertisements) of incomplete, inaccurate, deluding information, concealing of some factors or unclearness of formulations that have influenced or can influence the decision of a consumer regarding purchase of goods, works and services. Volodymyr Gurlov noted that such deception may be not only direct (provision of unreliable information) but also it can be reached by means of concealing of information, its exaggeration and provision of ambiguous definitions.

Also it should be mentioned that it is not compulsory to prove the fact of deception of a particular consumer. In order to recognize a commercial as deceptive it is sufficient to provide a conclusion according to which the commercial can hypothetically delude a consumer. However in this case it is required to have conclusion of the expertise which can be conducted by certified specialists. But the Law “On advertising” allows one to conduct independent expertise of commercials by non-governmental organizations and joint-venture companies which conduct their activities in the field of advertising. “It is quite a common practice when a controlling authority makes its decision based on expertise of Ukrainian non-governmental organization. At the same time the courts are more critical about such conclusions of experts and if required may appoint a judicial expertise”- says Volodymyr Gurlov.

For advertisers:

According to Volodymyr Gurlov, the advertisers should always remember that it is easier to prevent problems than deal with the consequences. In order to achieve this they must obligatory analyze the advertised information at the stage of its development. “Besides one should remember that balancing on the edge will most likely cause negative consequences so it would be better to have so to speak reserve and secure one’s positions”.

Unabridged text of the article is available under the link - http://kontrakty.ua/article/63960.